Rick Haydon Group

Guitarist and educator Rick Haydon is widely respected as an authority on 7-string guitar. A student of Johnny Smith, Howard Roberts, Pat Martino, & most recently Bucky Pizzarelli, Haydon was recently named Director of Jazz Studies at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. In addition to the SIUE program, which he helped build since first joining the faculty in the mid-1980s, Haydon is also on the faculty of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Band Director Academy and the Birch Creek Music Center. Haydon’s recent album “Just Friends” with fellow 7-string advocate John Pizzarelli reached #19 on the Jazz Week radio charts and his current album “4” features an all-star quartet where he’s joined by organist Reggie Thomas, trumpeter Clay Jenkins & drummer Gary Hobbs.